Chance and Choice
by UW23
Summary: Kate's about to begin her new life but is it the right choice? My very first AU fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Being an avid fan of Lost and Fanfic reading, I thought I would ****finally have a go at writing myself. So here goes, my very first AU Lost fic....**

**Disclaimer: I do not own lost or any of it's characters. **

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**Chapter 1: Unexpected Meeting**

She was reluctant to say the least about doing this, but at the same time couldn't see the harm in having a little fun on her last night as a single gal.

However the place she was just brought to wasn't what she had in mind.

"Can we go somewhere else?"

"What like a Nunnery? C'mon Kate just quit being such a 'goody too shoes' for once and have some fun." the blonde beside her, Shannon, exclaimed but the brunette still looked far from convinced.

The club was filled with a surprising amount of women, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why. The neon lit "Ladies Night" sign on the outside of the Club couldn't have made it more obvious.

"You know, fun?" Kate's other best friend of ten years, Chloe, chipped in and finally Kate reluctantly gave in with a roll of the eyes.

It started off with a round of drinks, light on the alcohol in Kate's case despite being goaded otherwise on countless occasions.

"I'm getting married tomorrow remember." was Kate's excuse, yet that failed to dawn upon the two women, especially Chloe. However her reasons were based on the simple fact that Kate's fiancé was nothing but a womanizer, though for the sake of Kate, she tried to be somewhat supportive.

"Which is all the more reason to celebrate" Shannon pointed out and before anything else could be said, the lights in the Club dimmed to black and a voice suddenly filled the air.

"_Ladies__ we bring you a special treat tonight. A tall, dark, brooding Doctor who lives to satisfy his patients to the full. So get ready ladies cause Dr. McHottie is officially on duty and looking to service…." _

The curtains on the stage then opened to reveal a sight that had nearly every woman in the Club either hooting or drooling.

"Now this is what I'm talking about…" Shannon acknowledged and broke off to join in with the hooting and hollering along with Chloe. Whereas Kate tried to shield her eyes from the stripping man. Peeking at certain points to see when it would be over.

Chloe catching sight of this simply pulled Kate's hand away and then pulled her towards the stage. Kate's face landing in direct crotch view of the man as a result and she barely had time to grasp hold of the situation before she was then pulled up on stage by the man and then seated in a chair.

Kate, knowing where this was leading moved to get up, but she suddenly found herself plastered to the chair by the body of the man now above her. His hips slowly gyrating into her and as his focus lined up with hers, he saw nothing but fear and discomfort.

He knew he had a job to do, yet at the same time he wasn't the kind of person to make someone else feel uncomfortable doing it. So he improvised around his usual routine, ushering the terrified brunette back into the crowd and then making it up by giving his audience a spectacular finish.

By the end of the night all Kate wanted to do was get out of this place. Having had enough fun to last her a lifetime and Shannon and Chloe had no choice but to call it a night as well.

Once out of the Club, Chloe tried hailing for a cab along with Shannon whilst Kate stood on the pavement trying to gather her thoughts regarding the night's events. However it all came to a standstill when she caught sight of what looked and sounded like an argument between 'stripper man' and some other guy.

She wasn't one to eavesdrop, but couldn't help herself in the end.

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"I need this job Frank."

"What part of "you're fired" do you not get?!" the man shouted, getting right in stripper man's face to make the extent of his point heard.

However stripper man seemed relentless in his pursuit which resulted in him getting taken care of by the Club's Bouncers.

"Hey." Kate shouted without thinking, running towards the commotion to try and stop it.

Once she reached him, Frank and the Bouncers had already made with a quick escape, though her concerns were more focused on the man now lying bloodied and unconscious on the floor before her.

"Shannon, call 911!!" she ordered and then proceeded to check the man's vital signs. Sighing in relief when she found a pulse, but frowning upon the extent of the man's injuries.

The ambulance thankfully arrived a few minutes later and the paramedics immediately went about their job. Kate helping any way she could and once they were ready to go Kate wordlessly volunteered to accompany him to the Hospital, leaving next to no argument to be convinced otherwise.

This was the last thing both Shannon and Chloe could have expected or predicted for that matter, especially with what Kate had just done.

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**In the next instalment we'll find out more about "stripper man" and will there still be a wedding?**

**What do you guys think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A humble thank you**** for the encouraging feedback and here's the next update. **

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**Chapter 2: Introductions**

Things were relatively hazy when he woke, even more so with his current surroundings.

"What the…." He barely got the chance to comprehend what was going on before in walked the last person he expected to see, especially after the discomfort he put her through.

"Hey." Kate greeted with a friendly smile, relieved that he was awake though still worried about his welfare. The poor guy didn't even have proper health insurance to begin with and weirdly enough there was no listed family to call as well.

"How are you feeling today?" she added and wearyingly looking upon her, he then tried getting up but dizzied due to the throbbing pain his head was suddenly overwhelmed with.

"Here let me help you." Kate offered, carefully re-adjusting his bed and then helping him sit up a bit.

What she originally thought were a few cuts and bruises turned out to be a near life threatening stab wound just above his appendix and a worrying amount of internal bleeding as well.

Fortunately he had been admitted in time, thanks to Kate, who stayed at the Hospital the entire night making regular checks on him.

She knew it wasn't her place or business to concern herself with a man she barely knew, other than his profession; she just wanted him okay again, much like she would with any other patient.

"Thanks." He muttered, awkward in his demeanour yet grateful enough to offer a brief acknowledgement for her hospitality. With that he then moved to get off the bed. His mind on other things, two people to be precise who were probably worried sick about him at the moment.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Kate questioned, naturally moving to stop him.

He proceeded to simply ignore her in response, removing any medical restraints along the way and then wobbling towards the door. He barely reached the doorway before he suddenly collapsed, making Kate's job considerably harder.

"I need to……have to…." He still kept on mumbling as Kate struggled to usher him back to the bed, having to shout for help as his condition deteriorated to the extent where he lost complete consciousness once again.

Thankfully, for the second time he managed to dodge the bullet of fatality and was now sedated and stabilised.

With no choice but to let time and nature take it's course, Kate decided to finally give her own life some precedence. Part of her feeling that it was wrong and indecent to just leave this man alone, but at the same time how different was he to any patient she had dealt with in her career.

She was shocked at the amount of missed calls on her phone, mostly from Shannon, but thankfully none from her Fiancé. The last thing she wanted was him finding out that she spent the night before their wedding with another man, even if it was based on a strict Doctor, patient relationship.

"Oh my God I'm getting married." She mused in sudden thought of the revelation, growing paler when she realised that it was in a few hours time. With that knowledge in mind she quickly checked her watch, cursing under her breath for having missed her dress fitting and meeting with the Caterers as well.

Hoping that Shannon and Chloe had taken care of the Caterers, she made a quick call to the dress shop to see if her dress was ready to pick up. Much to her amusement and relief she learned that a Miss Shannon Rutherford had already picked it up on her behalf earlier this morning.

With that affirmed she got off the phone and moved to leave, though found herself wanting to check on him one last time.

Opting to grant him some much needed rest, she stood at the window to his room instead, simply gazing at his dormant form.

It was in her nature to worry, especially with a patient, but for some reason this man was different from the others. Maybe it was the fact that she had witnessed him come so close to death or perhaps it was the sadness she saw in his eyes.

"Ooh he's a cutie." came the sing song voice of one of the passing nurses, who then placed herself beside Kate to bask in the appreciative view.

"Who is he?" the nurse asked and unfortunately there still wasn't a lot she could say or reveal about him, aside from his name.

"His name is Jack. Jack Shepherd." Kate revealed, her eyes firmly trained on the steady fall and rise of his chest. The sight evoking some hope yet she still had her doubts.

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(A few miles away)

"Where is he?" the blonde wondered, growing increasingly worried by the minute with no word from him whatsoever.

She wanted to assume that it was nothing. That he was probably held up at work for some related reason, but there was just this nagging feeling in her gut that perhaps it wasn't.

"They couldn't have…." She let the dreaded thought sweep her mind, praying that her worst nightmare hadn't become a reality.

With her current predicament there was no way she could personally find out about him without exposing herself and undoubtedly jeopardising the life Jack had worked so hard to rebuild for her and her son.

At the same time she knew that if the roles were reversed, Jack would fight tooth and nail to find out what was going on. However unlike him she no longer had the privilege of freedom, not since Tom.

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**So a few more reveals in this chapter and some cliffies to hopefully leave you wanting more. ****Plus who knows a romance might just bloom and intensify out of this. **

**The one thing I can**** confirm is that the Tom I'm referring to is not Kate's.**

**Next Chapter: All's well that might not end well and a risky decision. **

_Drop a review if you can and in return I'll assure a quicker update._


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